Method and system of managing accounts payable auditing data

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a method and system of managing accounts payable auditing data, where the auditing data includes at least one line item and is ordered by a propensity to yield claims. The method and system, in an exemplary embodiment, includes (1) displaying at least one aged line item, (2) identifying credit data among the at least one displayed aged line item, and (3) recording the identified credit data. In an exemplary embodiment, the aged line item is a line item that has aged for N months, where N is positive integer. In an exemplary embodiment, N is 4.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The practice of performing recovery audits originated in theearly 1970's, during a time of increased commerce for the retailindustry. A growing network of national chain stores led to a rise incompetition for retail shelf space from different suppliers. Largecompanies had a difficult time keeping track of the many differentvendor price points, rebates, and other various discounts.

[0002] Keeping track of such details was not an integral part ofpurchasing departments. Such oversights led to a substantial amount oflost revenue going unnoticed in the form of duplicate payments,overpayments, missed shipments, unused credits, and other transactionalerrors between a company and its suppliers.

[0003] Accounts Payable Audit

[0004] Today, in a typical accounts payable (A/P) audit, auditors workwith the A/P records of a company in an attempt to find potentiallyprofitable discrepancies in a vendor transaction file for the company orindividual business units of the company. Although much of an A/P auditcan be performed at a third party location, the A/P audit generallyrequires the cooperation and time of individuals within theclient-organization to work in conjunction with the auditors. The A/Paudit is a useful tool but can be time consuming for the client.However, typical A/P auditing firms are unable to do a thorough job ofreviewing vendor data.

[0005] Statement Audit

[0006] Another type of audit emerging within the auditing industry is astatement audit (SA). A SA is initiated from the vendors' records and,thus, requires little, if any, intrusion within the client-company. Oncevendor files are secured, the auditing company begins the process ofsearching for gaps, differences, and discrepancies that result in theclient-company losing revenue. FIG. 1 shows a prior art statement auditmethod that includes a step 110 of recording contact information of avendor, a step 120 of reviewing only open line items corresponding tothe vendor, a step 130 of identifying claims among the open line items,a step 140 of validating the identified claims, a step 150 of storingthe validated claims, and a step 160 of invoicing the stored validatedclaims. Recording contact information of a vendor 110 is typically donemanually by a person.

[0007] A SA deals directly with suppliers and vendors. However, ifperformed properly, a SA yields findings that an A/P audit could miss.Because of the unique nature of a SA, the SA can either stand alone orfunction alongside typical A/P recovery efforts. A SA is very laborintensive because the SA audit requires the requesting, receiving,organizing, and following up with vendors on auditing data from manysources. In some statement audits, the number of sources ranges in thetens of thousands of sources. Due to the labor intensive demands of aSA, very few A/P auditing firms in the A/P auditing industry, if any,have the capability of doing a thorough and complete job for theirclients.

[0008] Prior art statement audits fail to manage credits based on lineitem data or on a line item basis. Instead, prior art statement auditsattempt to manage credits based only on statement level data, which isnot as detailed as line item data. Prior art statement audits typicallyonly deal with open line items. Prior art statement audits put each openline item in a file and then record a note for each open line itemindicating that the open line item should be checked at some point inthe future. In addition, prior art statement audits only keep track ofclaims. Prior art statement audits fail to keep track of every line itemof a client.

[0009] Transactional Errors

[0010] There is no accepted way to predict the success of an audit.However, a general rule of thumb is that transactional errors occur witha frequency of about {fraction (1/10)} of 1%. That translates to amillion dollars of annual recovery for every billion dollars of acompany's annual revenue.

[0011] The A/P auditing industry is growing in size and stature as thirdparty A/P auditing firms attempt to recover lost profits for theirclients. However, since A/P auditing firms are unable to do a thoroughjob of reviewing vendor data, clients have employed internal auditors inorder to recover lost profits via a statement audit. However, clientstypically are unable to perform statement audits because they do nothave the amount of staff necessary to perform a statement audit.Therefore, a method and system of managing accounts payable auditingdata is needed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0012] The present invention provides a method and system of managingaccounts payable auditing data, where the auditing data includes atleast one line item and is ordered by a propensity to yield claims. Themethod and system, in an exemplary embodiment, includes (1) displayingat least one aged line item, (2) identifying credit data among the atleast one displayed aged line item, and (3) recording the identifiedcredit data. In an exemplary embodiment, the aged line item is a lineitem that has aged for N months, where N is positive integer. In anexemplary embodiment, N is 4.

[0013] In an exemplary embodiment, the displaying includes (a) promptingif there are any line items that are aged line items that have to bevalidated and deducted, (b) displaying the number of vendors, by rank,that have and have not responded and a status assigned to those vendors,and (c) allowing for the noting and aging for follow up of when thevendor promises a fax, a callback, a mailing of an item, or a checkrequest and when a client puts a claim on hold.

[0014] In an exemplary embodiment, the recording includes (a) allowingfor the entry of contact data for at least one vendor, (b) allowing forentry of information about a vendor statement associated with thevendor, (c) allowing for selection of information about credits/claims,credits, or claims of the vendor, (d) allowing for the interaction withthe information about the credits/claims, the credits, or the clams ofthe vendor, and (e) allowing for the entry of comments about therecording.

THE FIGURES

[0015]FIG. 1 is a diagram of a prior art statement audit method.

[0016]FIG. 2 is a flowchart in accordance with an exemplary embodimentof the present invention.

[0017]FIG. 3A is a diagram of an auditor screen in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0018]FIG. 3B is a diagram of a report screen in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0019]FIG. 4 is a diagram of a vendor search results screen inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0020]FIG. 5A is a diagram of a data screen in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0021]FIG. 5B is a diagram of a credits/claims area in accordance withan exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0022]FIG. 5C is a diagram of a claims summary area in accordance withan exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0023]FIG. 5D is a diagram of a credits summary area in accordance withan exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0024]FIG. 5E is a diagram of a credits/claims data area in accordancewith an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0025]FIG. 6A is a diagram of an audit screen in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0026]FIG. 6B is a diagram of a batch preview screen in accordance withan exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0027]FIG. 6C is a diagram of a batch screen in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0028]FIG. 7A is a diagram of a client interface screen in accordancewith an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0029]FIG. 7B is a diagram of a claims search results screen inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0030]FIG. 8 is a diagram of an invoice preview screen in accordancewith an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0031] The present invention provides a method and system of managingaccounts payable auditing data, where the auditing data includes atleast one line item and is ordered by a propensity to yield claims. Inan exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the present inventionincludes a step 210 of displaying at least one aged line item, a step220 of identifying credit data among the at least one displayed agedline item, and a step 230 of recording the identified credit data.

[0032] In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the presentinvention further includes a step 240 of validating the recorded creditdata. In an exemplary embodiment, the present invention further includesa step 250 of publishing the validated credit data as claim batch data.In an exemplary embodiment, the present invention further includes astep 260 of managing the claim batch data. In an exemplary embodiment,the present invention further includes a step 270 of invoicing themanaged claim batch data.

[0033] Auditing Data

[0034] In an exemplary embodiment, the auditing data includes at leastone request from at least one vendor. In an exemplary embodiment, theauditing data includes a vendor statement corresponding to a vendor. Inan exemplary embodiment, the vendor statement includes a receivedfacsimile. In an exemplary embodiment, the received facsimile is storedin a computer data file associated with a vendor record corresponding tothe vendor. In an exemplary embodiment, vendor data is auditing datacorresponding to at least one vendor.

[0035] Displaying Aged Line Items

[0036] In an exemplary embodiment, the at least one line item includesat least one potential credit. In an exemplary embodiment, an aged lineitem is a line item that has aged for N months, where N is positiveinteger. In step 210, the present invention displays at least one lineitem when it is an aged line item. In an exemplary embodiment, N is 4.

[0037] Auditor Screen

[0038] In an exemplary embodiment, in step 210, the present inventiondisplays at least one aged line item via an auditor screen 300, as shownin FIG. 3A. In an exemplary embodiment, auditor screen 300 includes aselection area 302, an active sweep area 311, a status report area 319,a correspondence report area 329, a recognized statements area 340, arecognized faxes area 345, and an unrecognized area 350. In an exemplaryembodiment, an auditor can work on the statement audit by using auditorscreen 300. Thus, the auditor is not overwhelmed by the totality andsize of the statement audit. The auditor can focus on auditor screen 300and perform the statement audit by beginning work with auditor screen300. In an exemplary embodiment, auditor screen 300 schedules an auditof the at least one aged line item via selection area 302, active sweeparea 311, status report area 319, correspondence report area 329,recognized statements area 340, recognized faxes area 345, andunrecognized area 350.

[0039] Selection Area

[0040] In an exemplary embodiment, selection area 302 includes an auditselect area 305, a vendor select area 307, and a credit/claim selectarea 309. Audit select area 305 allows for the selection of a statementaudit to be worked on. Credit/claim select area 309 allows for theselection of credits/claims to be searched.

[0041] Vendor select area 307 allows for the selection of a vendor forthe audit. Vendor select area 307 allows for the searching of vendor.Vendor select area 307 allows for the inputting of a character string ofa vendor, a vendor name, a vendor number, or a vendor identificationcode in order to initiate a search for vendor data. In an exemplaryembodiment, a search for vendor data via vendor select area 307 causes avendor search results screen 400 to be displayed, as shown in FIG. 4.

[0042] Active Sweep Area

[0043] In an exemplary embodiment, active sweep area 311 includes a nottaken credit against vendor count area 310, an aging credits currentmonth dollar amount area 312, and a taken credit against vendor countarea 314. In an exemplary embodiment, aging credits current month dollaramount area 312 prompts the auditor if there are any line items thathave recently come of age that have to be verified and deducted.

[0044] In an exemplary embodiment, not taken credit against vendor countarea 310 displays the number of vendors against whom credits have notbeen taken and whose vendor statements have aged for N months. In anexemplary embodiment, aging credits current month dollar amount area 312displays the current month dollar amount for credits that have aged forN months. In an exemplary embodiment, taken credit against vendor countarea 314 displays the number of vendors against whom credits have beentaken and whose vendor statements have aged for N months.

[0045] Status Report Area

[0046] In an exemplary embodiment, status report area 319 includes acredits area 320, a received area 322, and a vendor area 324. Statusreport area 319 displays the number of vendors, by rank, that have andhave not responded and the status of those vendors.

[0047] In an exemplary embodiment, credits area 320 displays the numberof vendors, by rank, against whom credits have been taken. In anexemplary embodiment, received area 322 displays the number of vendors,by rank, whose vendor statements have been received. In an exemplaryembodiment, vendor area 324 displays the number of vendors, by rank,whose vendor statements have not been received.

[0048] Correspondence Report Area

[0049] In an exemplary embodiment, correspondence report area 329includes a pending fax row area 330, a pending callback row area 332, apending mail row area 334, a check requests row area 336, and a claimson hold row area 338. Correspondence report area 329 allows for thenoting and aging for follow up of (1) when a vendor promises a fax, acallback, a mailing of an item, or a check request and (2) when a clientputs a claim on hold.

[0050] In an exemplary embodiment, pending fax row area 330 allows forthe noting and aging for follow up of when a vendor promises a fax. Inan exemplary embodiment, pending callback row area 332 allows for thenoting and aging for follow up of when a vendor promises a callback. Inan exemplary embodiment, pending callback row area 332 also allows forthe noting and aging for follow up of when a message is left with avendor. In an exemplary embodiment, pending mail row area 334 allows forthe noting and aging for follow up of when a vendor promises a mailingof an item. In an exemplary embodiment, check requests row area 336allows for the noting and aging for follow up of when a vendor promisesa check.

[0051] In an exemplary embodiment, claims on hold row area 338 allowsfor the noting and aging for follow up of when a client puts a claim onhold. Via claims on hold row 338, claims on hold are made a priority.

[0052] In addition, in an exemplary embodiment, selecting any activeitem in active sweep area 311, status report area 319, andcorrespondence area 329 causes vendor search results screen 400 to bedisplayed. In an exemplary embodiment, an active item is an area on adisplay that is hyperlinked to another screen or area.

[0053] Recognized Statements Area

[0054] In an exemplary embodiment, recognized statements area 340displays recognized statements information about at least one vendorstatement that has been recognized as a vendor statement. In anexemplary embodiment, the recognized statements information may includean identification value of the recognized vendor statement, a name ofthe vendor corresponding to the recognized vendor statement, a date whenthe recognized vendor statement was received, and a number of pages ofthe recognized vendor statement. In an exemplary embodiment, recognizedstatements area 340 displays recognized statements information about atleast one vendor statement that corresponds to the at least one agedline item. In an exemplary embodiment, the recognized statementsinformation is ordered by a probability to yield claims. In an exemplaryembodiment, information about the at least one recognized vendorstatement is ordered by a probability to yield claims.

[0055] Recognized Faxes Area

[0056] In an exemplary embodiment, recognized faxes area 345 displaysrecognized faxes information about at least one facsimile that isrecognized and that is not a vendor statement. In an exemplaryembodiment, the recognized faxes information may include a name of thevendor corresponding to the recognized facsimile, an identificationvalue of the recognized facsimile, a date when the recognized facsimilewas received, a rank of the recognized facsimile, and a number of pagesof the recognized facsimile.

[0057] Unrecognized Areas

[0058] In an exemplary embodiment, unrecognized area 350 displaysunrecognized information about at least one facsimile that isunrecognized. In an exemplary embodiment, the unrecognized area 350 mayinclude a date when the unrecognized facsimile was received and a numberof pages of the unrecognized facsimile.

[0059] Report Screen

[0060] In an exemplary embodiment, the present invention displays atleast one aged line item in a report screen 354, as shown in FIG. 3B. Inan exemplary embodiment, report screen 354 includes selection area 302,a client data area 355, a client summary area 357, a future claims area360, a status report area 370, a claim report area 380, correspondencereport area 329, an aged statement report area 365, and a reportcomments area 390.

[0061] Client Data Area

[0062] In an exemplary embodiment, client data area 355 displays clientdata about a particular client. In an exemplary embodiment, the clientdata may include the name of the client, a division of the client, anaddress of the client, a city of the client, a state of the client, azip code of the client, a country of the client, types of the client,and a phone number for vendors of the client.

[0063] Client Summary Area

[0064] In an exemplary embodiment, client data area 355 displays clientsummary information about a particular client. In an exemplaryembodiment, the client summary information may include an auditidentifier for the client, a number of vendors of the client, a numberof vendors with claims of the client, a dollar amount of the vendors ofthe client, a number of mailings of the client, and a number ofstatement of the client.

[0065] Future Claims Area

[0066] In an exemplary embodiment, future claims area 360 displaysestimates of at least one future claim corresponding to the aged lineitem. In an exemplary embodiment, future claims area 360 includes amonthly aging credits current month dollar amount 362 for at least onemonth. In an exemplary embodiment, monthly aging credits current monthdollar amount area 362 indicates if there are any line items that willcome of age in the month that have to be verified and deducted.

[0067] Status Report Area

[0068] In an exemplary embodiment, status report area 370 includescredits area 320, an active area 371, an inactive area 372, a WNP (i.e.will not provide) area 373, a do not audit area 374, vendor area 324, atotal area 376, a need address area 375, a no phone area 377, a new area378, and a subs area 379.

[0069] In an exemplary embodiment, active area 371 displays the numberof vendors, by rank, whose vendor statements are active. In an exemplaryembodiment, inactive area 372 displays the number of vendors, by rank,whose vendor statements are inactive. In an exemplary embodiment, WNParea 373 displays the number of vendors, by rank, whose vendorstatements are WNP.

[0070] In an exemplary embodiment, do not audit area 374 displays thenumber of vendors, by rank, whose vendor statements are not to beaudited. In an exemplary embodiment, total area 376 displays the totalnumber of vendors, by rank. In an exemplary embodiment, need addressarea 375 displays the number of vendors, by rank, for whom an address isneeded.

[0071] In an exemplary embodiment, no phone area 377 displays the numberof vendors, by rank, for whom there is no phone number. In an exemplaryembodiment, new area 378 displays the total number of vendors, whosevendor statements are new. In an exemplary embodiment, subs area 379displays the number of vendors, by rank, who are subsidiaries.

[0072] Claim Report Area

[0073] In an exemplary embodiment, claim report area 380 includes anopen column area 382, a void column area 383, a refund column area 384,a hold column area 385, and a net column area 386. In an exemplaryembodiment, claim report area 380 displays a dollar amount of claimsthat have been submitted to a client and a dollar amount of claims thathave to be batched.

[0074] In an exemplary embodiment, open column area 382 displays adollar amount of claims that are open. In an exemplary embodiment, voidcolumn area 383 displays a dollar amount of claims that are void. In anexemplary embodiment, refund column area 384 displays a dollar amount ofclaims that are to be refunded. In an exemplary embodiment, hold columnarea 385 displays a dollar amount of claims that are on hold. In anexemplary embodiment, net column area 386 displays a net dollar amountof claims.

[0075] Aged Statement Report Area

[0076] In an exemplary embodiment, aged statement report area 365displays aging information of the at least one aged line. In anexemplary embodiment, aged statement report area 365 includes a withcredits row area 366 and a total row area 367. In an exemplaryembodiment, aged statement report area 365 displays the number of agedline items that have aged for a certain amount of time.

[0077] In an exemplary embodiment, credits row area 366 displays thenumber of aged line statements with credits that have aged for a certainamount of time. In an exemplary embodiment, total row area 367 displaysa total number of aged line items that have aged for a certain amount oftime.

[0078] Report Comments Area

[0079] In an exemplary embodiment, report comments area 390 displaysreport comments about the at least one aged line item. In an exemplaryembodiment, report comments area 390 includes a comments entry area 391,a save comments area 393, a show activity area 392, a date time area394, a comments area 395, and a by area 396. In an exemplary embodiment,report comments area 390 allows for the entry of comments about the atleast one aged line item.

[0080] In an exemplary embodiment, comments entry area 391 allows forthe entry of comments about the at least one aged line item. In anexemplary embodiment, save comments area 393 allows for the saving ofthe entered comments. In an exemplary embodiment, show activity area 392allows for the selection of showing database activity for the at leastone aged line item. In an exemplary embodiment, date time area 394displays date and time information of when the comments were entered. Inan exemplary embodiment, comments area 395 displays the entered commentsand/or the database activity for the at least one aged line item. In anexemplary embodiment, by area 396 displays by whom the comments wereentered.

[0081] Vendor Search Results Screen

[0082] In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the presentinvention displays vendor data via vendor search results screen 400. Inan exemplary embodiment, vendor search results screen 400 includes ajump results area 405, a vendor information area 410, a vendor contactarea 420, a statement area 430, a claim summary area 440, and a creditpending area 450. In an exemplary embodiment, jump results area 405displays the number of vendor search results, X, resulting from a searchfor vendor data.

[0083] Vendor Information Area

[0084] In an exemplary embodiment, vendor information area 410 displaysinformation about at least one vendor among the vendor search results,such as the vendor's name, city, volume, rank, vendor number, and phonenumber. In an exemplary embodiment, vendor information area 410 includesa least one vendor name area 412 that displays the vendor's name. In anexemplary embodiment, a selecting vendor name area 412 causes a datascreen 500, as shown in FIG. 5A, to be displayed for the vendor with thevendor name in the selected vendor name area 412.

[0085] Vendor Contact Area and Statement Area

[0086] In an exemplary embodiment, vendor contact area 420 displayscontact information of at least one vendor among the vendor searchresults, such as the name of a contact person at the vendor and thatcontact person's phone number, facsimile number and e-mail address. Inan exemplary embodiment, statement area 430 displays information aboutat least one vendor statement among the vendor search results, where theinformation includes the date of the vendor statement and the status ofthe vendor statement. In an exemplary embodiment, the status of thevendor statement may be credits, active, inactive, do not audit,subsidiary, or no phone number. In a further embodiment, the status ofthe vendor statement may be definable by a user.

[0087] Claim Summary Area

[0088] In an exemplary embodiment, claim summary area 440 displaysinformation about at least one set of claims among the vendor searchresults, such as the dollar amount of the set of claims, the number ofclaims in the set of claims, and the number of claim batches for the setof claims. In an exemplary embodiment, claim summary area 440 includes aleast one dollar amount of the set of claims area 442 that displays thedollar amount of the set of claims. In an exemplary embodiment,selecting dollar amount of the set of claims area 442 causes a claimssummary area 580, as shown in FIG. 5C, to be displayed in acredits/claims interaction area 552 in FIG. 5A for the set of claimscorresponding to the selected dollar amount of the set of claims area442.

[0089] Credit Pending Area

[0090] In an exemplary embodiment, credit pending area 450 displaysinformation about at least one set of pending credits among the vendorsearch results, such as the dollar amount of the set of pending creditsand the number of pending credits in the set of pending credits. In anexemplary embodiment, credit pending area 450 includes a least onedollar amount of the set of pending credits area 452 that displays thedollar amount of the set of pending credits. In an exemplary embodiment,selecting dollar amount of the set of pending credits area 452 causes acredits/claims data area 510 to be displayed, as shown in FIG. 5E, in acredits/claims interaction area 552 in a data screen 500 in FIG. 5A forthe set of pending credits corresponding to the selected dollar amountof the set of pending credits area 452.

[0091] Identifying Credit Data

[0092] In step 220, the present invention identifies credit data amongthe at least one displayed aged line item, thereby identifying creditdata on a line item basis. In an exemplary embodiment, the credit dataincludes at least one identified credit.

[0093] In an exemplary embodiment, auditor screen 300 identifies creditdata via active sweep area 311 and status report area 319. In anexemplary embodiment, auditor screen 300 allows an auditor to identifycredit data. In other words, auditor screen 300 allows the auditor toidentify credits among the at least one displayed aged line item,thereby allowing the auditor to identify credit data on a line itembasis.

[0094] In an exemplary embodiment, vendor search results screen 400 alsoidentifies credit data via claims summary area 440 and credit pendingarea 450. In an exemplary embodiment, vendor search results screen 400allows an auditor to identify credit data. In other words, vendor searchresults screen 400 allows the auditor to identify credits among the atleast one displayed aged line item, thereby allowing the auditor toidentify credit data on a line item basis.

[0095] Recording Identified Credit Data

[0096] In step 230, the present invention records the identified creditdata that includes at least one aged line item, thereby recording atleast one potential claim. In an exemplary embodiment, the credit dataincludes at least one recorded credit.

[0097] Data Screen

[0098] In an exemplary embodiment, in step 230, the present inventionrecords credit data for aged line items via data screen 500, as shown inFIG. 5A, for the vendor selected in vendor search results screen 400. Inan exemplary embodiment, data screen 500 also displays vendor data forthe selected vendor. In an exemplary embodiment, data screen 500includes vendor select area 307, credit/claim select area 309, a vendorarea 510, a vendor contact data area 520, a statements area 530, acredit/claims selection area 540, and a credit/claims information area550, and a data comments area 560. Data screen 500 displays both contactlevel data and claim detail data for the selected vendor. In anexemplary embodiment, in step 230, the present invention records creditdata for aged line items via data screen 500, as shown in FIG. 5A, for avendor.

[0099] Vendor Area

[0100] In an exemplary embodiment, vendor area 501 displays informationabout the selected vendor, such as the vendor's name, rank, volume,vendor identification, vendor number, address, and parentidentification.

[0101] Vendor Contact Data Area

[0102] In an exemplary embodiment, vendor contact data area 520 displayscontact information of the selected vendor, such as the phone number ofa contact person at the vendor and the contact person's name, contactphone number, extension, facsimile number and e-mail address. In anexemplary embodiment, vendor contact data area 520 includes a phone area522, a contact area 524, a contact phone area 526, an extension area528, a facsimile area 521, and an e-mail area 523. In an exemplaryembodiment, vendor contact data area 520 allows for the entry of contactdata for a vendor.

[0103] In an exemplary embodiment, phone area 522 allows for the entryof the contact person's phone number. In an exemplary embodiment,contact area 524 allows for the entry of the contact person's name. Inan exemplary embodiment, contact phone area 526 allows for the entry ofthe contact person's contact phone number. In an exemplary embodiment,extension area 528 allows for the entry of the contact person'sextension. In an exemplary embodiment, facsimile area 521 allows for theentry of the contact person's facsimile number. In an exemplaryembodiment, e-mail area 523. allows for the entry of the contactperson's e-mail address.

[0104] Statements Area

[0105] In an exemplary embodiment, statements area 530 displaysinformation about at least one vendor statement of the selected vendor,such as whether the vendor statement has been received, the vendorstatement's date, the name of whom was spoken to about the vendorstatement, the method of delivery of the vendor statement, the actiontaken on the vendor statement, the date of the action taken on thevendor statement, the next call of the vendor statement, the next mailof the vendor statement, and the status of the vendor. In an exemplaryembodiment, statements area 530 includes a received area 532, astatement date area 534, a spoke to area 536, a method area 538, anaction taken area 533, an action date area 531, a status area 535, anext mail area 537, and a next call area 539.

[0106] In an exemplary embodiment, received area 532 allows for theentry of whether the vendor statement has been received. In an exemplaryembodiment, statement date area 534 allows for the entry of the vendorstatement's date. In an exemplary embodiment, spoke to area 536 allowsfor the entry of the name of whom was spoken to about the vendorstatement. In an exemplary embodiment, method area 538 allows for theentry of the method of delivery of the vendor statement. In an exemplaryembodiment, action taken area 533 allows for the entry of the actiontaken on the vendor statement, such as promised fax and promised mail.In an exemplary embodiment, action date area 531 allows for the entry ofthe date of the action taken on the vendor statement. In an exemplaryembodiment, status area 535 allows for the entry of the status of thevendor. In an exemplary embodiment, next mail area 537 allows for theentry of the next mail of the vendor statement, where the next mail ofthe vendor statement is the date of when to mail the vendor next. In anexemplary embodiment, next call area 539 allows for the entry of thenext call of the vendor statement, where the next call of the vendorstatement is the date of when to call the vendor next.

[0107] Credit/Claims Selection Area

[0108] In an exemplary embodiment, credit/claims selection area 540allows for the selection of information about credits/claims, credits,or claims for the selected vendor. In an exemplary embodiment,credit/claims selection area 540 includes a credit/claim data entryselect area 542, a claim summary select area 544, a credit summaryselect area 546, and a summary printout select area 548.

[0109] In an exemplary embodiment, credit/claim data entry select area542 allows for the selection of entering credit or claim/claimsinformation for the selected vendor in a credits/claims area 570 in FIG.5B. In an exemplary embodiment, claim summary select area 544 allows forthe selection of obtaining a summary of claims for the selected vendorin a claims summary area 580 in FIG. 5C. In an exemplary embodiment,credit summary select area 546 allows for the selection of obtaining asummary of credits for the selected vendor in a credit summary area 590in FIG. 5D. In an exemplary embodiment, summary printout select area 548allows for the selection of the printing of information displayed incredit/claims information area 550.

[0110] Credit/Claims Information Area

[0111] In an exemplary embodiment, credit/claims information area 550allows for the interaction with information about credits/claims,credits, or claims of the selected vendor. In an exemplary embodiment,credit/claims information area 550 includes credits/claims interactionarea 552 and a save area 554.

[0112] In an exemplary embodiment, credits/claims interaction area 552displays a credits/claims area 570, as shown in FIG. 5B, whencredit/claim data entry select area 542 is selected. In an exemplaryembodiment, credits/claims interaction area 552 displays claims summaryarea 580, as shown in FIG. 5C, when claim summary select area 544 isselected. In an exemplary embodiment, credits/claims interaction area552 displays a credits summary area 590, as shown in FIG. 5D, whencredit summary select area 546 is selected. In an exemplary embodiment,save area 554 allows for the saving of the credit/claims informationentered on credits/claims screen 570 when save area 554 is selected. Inan exemplary embodiment, credits/claims interaction area 552 can displaycredits/claims data area 510, as shown in FIG. 5E.

[0113] Data Comments Area

[0114] In an exemplary embodiment, data comments area 560 displays datacomments about the selected vendor. In an exemplary embodiment, datacomments area 560 includes a comments entry area 561, a save commentsarea 563, a show activity area 568, a date time area 562, a commentsarea 564, and a by area 566. In an exemplary embodiment, data commentsarea 560 allows for the entry of comments about the selected vendor.

[0115] In an exemplary embodiment, comments entry area 561 allows forthe entry of comments about the data entered via data screen 500. In anexemplary embodiment, save comments area 563 allows for the saving ofthe entered comments. In an exemplary embodiment, show activity area 568allows for the selection of showing database activity for the selectedvendor. In an exemplary embodiment, date time area 562 displays date andtime information of when the comments were entered. In an exemplaryembodiment, comments area 564 displays the entered comments and/or thedatabase activity for the selected vendor. In an exemplary embodiment,by area 566 displays by whom the comments were entered.

[0116] Credits/Claims Area

[0117] In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5B, credits/claimsarea 570 allows for the entry and display of credits/claims informationof the selected vendor. In an exemplary embodiment, credits/claims area570 includes a reference area 571, a credit date area 572, an amountarea 573, a type area 574, a location area 575, a submit area 576, aclaim send date area 577, a batch identification area 578, an issuecheck request area 579, a check request date area 567, and a claimstatus area 569. In an exemplary embodiment, credits/claims area 570allows for the entry of at least one line item for the selected vendor.

[0118] In an exemplary embodiment, reference area 571 allows for theentry of a reference value for a particular line item. In an exemplaryembodiment, credit date area 572 allows for the entry of a date when theline item was created. In an exemplary embodiment, upon the entry of thedate when the line item was created, the line item is aged until its Nthmonth. In an exemplary embodiment, amount area 573 allows for the entryof the amount of the line item. In an exemplary embodiment, type area574 allows for the entry of a type of line item for the line item, wherethe values of the type of line item are definable. For example, thevalues of the type of line item may include duplicate payments, rebates,return, unapplied cash, overpayment, and miscellaneous.

[0119] In an exemplary embodiment, location area 575 allows for theentry of a location associated with the line item. In an exemplaryembodiment, the location is where at the client does the vendor believethat the line item belong. In an exemplary embodiment, submit area 576allows for designating that the line item should be submitted whensubmit area 576 is selected. In an exemplary embodiment, claim send datearea 577 allows for the entry of a date when a claim was sent for theline item. In an exemplary embodiment, batch identification area 578displays a batch identification value for the line item.

[0120] In an exemplary embodiment, issue check request area 579 allowsfor designating that a check request should be issued for the line itemwhen check request area 579 is selected. In an exemplary embodiment,check request date area 567 allows for the entry of a date when thecheck request was made for the line item. In an exemplary embodiment,claim status area 569 allows for the entry of a status of a claim forthe line item.

[0121] Claims Summary Area

[0122] In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5C, claims summaryarea 580 displays a summary of claim information about at least one lineitem associated with at least one claim of the selected vendor. In anexemplary embodiment, claims summary area 580 includes an audit area581, a statement area 582, a status area 583, a spoke to area 584, aline item area 585, a credit date area 586, an amount area 587, areference area 588, a type area 589, a claim date area 565, a claimstatus area 556, a batch area 558, and a batch date area 553. Claimssummary area 580 displays historical data about the claims for theselected vendor.

[0123] In an exemplary embodiment, audit area 581 displays the name ofthe audit for a particular line item. In an exemplary embodiment,selecting audit area 581 causes report screen 354, as shown in FIG. 3B,to be displayed for the audit corresponding to the selected audit area581. In an exemplary embodiment, statement area 582 displays the date ofa vendor statement for the line item. In an exemplary embodiment,selecting statement area 582 causes an image of the vendor statementcorresponding to the selected statement area 582 to be displayed. In anexemplary embodiment, status 583 displays the status of the line item.

[0124] In an exemplary embodiment, spoke to area 584 displays the nameof the person at the vendor to whom the claim was spoken about in step240. In an exemplary embodiment, line item area 585 displays a line itemidentifier for the claim. In an exemplary embodiment, selecting lineitem area 585 causes credits/claims data area 510, as shown in FIG. 5E,to be displayed in credits/claims interaction area 552 for the claimcorresponding to the selected line item area 585.

[0125] In an exemplary embodiment, credit date area 586 displays thedate when a credit was created. In an exemplary embodiment, selectingcredit date area 586 also causes credits/claims data area 510, as shownin FIG. 5E, to be displayed in credits/claims interaction area 552 forthe claim corresponding to the selected credit date area 586. In anexemplary embodiment, amount area 587 displays the amount of the claim.

[0126] In an exemplary embodiment, reference area 588 displays areference value for the line item. In an exemplary embodiment, selectingreference area 588 also causes credits/claims data area 510, as shown inFIG. 5E, to be displayed in credits/claims interaction area 552 for theclaim corresponding to the selected reference area 588. In an exemplaryembodiment, type area 589 displays the type of the claim. In anexemplary embodiment, claim date area 565 displays the date and time ofthe claim. In an exemplary embodiment, claim status area 556 displaysthe status of the claim. In an exemplary embodiment, batch area 558displays a batch identification value of the claim. In an exemplaryembodiment, batch date area 553 displays the date that the batchassociated with the claim occurred.

[0127] Credits Summary Area

[0128] In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5D, credits summaryarea 590 displays a summary of information about at least one credit ofthe selected vendor. In an exemplary embodiment, credits summary area590 includes audit area 581, statement area 582, status area 583, creditdate area 586, a month due area 592, an amount area 594, reference area588, and a type area 596. Credits summary area 590 displays data aboutcredits that are aging but that have not been validated.

[0129] In an exemplary embodiment, month due area 592 displays the monthwhen the credit is due. In an exemplary embodiment, amount area 594displays the amount of the credit. In an exemplary embodiment, type area596 displays the type of the credit.

[0130] Credits/Claims Data Area

[0131] In an exemplary embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5E, credits/claimsdata area 510 allows for the entry and display of credits/claimsinformation of the selected vendor for a line item. In an exemplaryembodiment, credits/claims data area 510 includes a reference area 511,a credit date area 512, an amount area 513, a type area 514, a locationarea 515, a submit area 516, a claim send date area 517, a batchidentification area 518, an issue check request area 519, a checkrequest date area 507, and a claim status area 509. In an exemplaryembodiment, credits/claims data area 510 allows for the entry of oneline item for the selected vendor.

[0132] In an exemplary embodiment, reference area 511 allows for theentry of a reference value for the line item. In an exemplaryembodiment, credit date area 512 allows for the entry of a date when theline item was created. In an exemplary embodiment, amount area 513allows for the entry of the amount of the line item. In an exemplaryembodiment, type area 514 allows for the entry of a type of line itemfor the line item, where the values of the type of line item aredefinable. For example, the values of the type of line item may includeduplicate payments, rebates, return, unapplied cash, overpayment, andmiscellaneous.

[0133] In an exemplary embodiment, location area 515 allows for theentry of a location associated with the line item. In an exemplaryembodiment, the location is where at the client does the vendor believethat the line item belong. In an exemplary embodiment, submit area 516allows for designating that the line item should be submitted whensubmit area 516 is selected. In an exemplary embodiment, claim send datearea 517 allows for the entry of a date when a claim was sent for theline item. In an exemplary embodiment, batch identification area 518displays a batch identification value for the line item.

[0134] In an exemplary embodiment, issue check request area 519 allowsfor designating that a check request should be issued for the line itemwhen check request area 519 is selected. In an exemplary embodiment,check request date area 507 allows for the entry of a date when thecheck request was made for the line item. In an exemplary embodiment,claim status area 509 allows for the entry of a status of a claim forthe line item.

[0135] Validating Recorded Credit Data

[0136] In step 240, in an exemplary embodiment, the present inventionallows for at least one auditor to contact at least one vendorcorresponding to the recorded credit data in order to verify that the atleast one aged line item can be submitted for deduction, therebyvalidating the recorded credit data. In an exemplary embodiment, in step240, the present invention allows for at least one auditor to contact atleast one customer corresponding to the recorded credit data in order toverify that the at least one aged line item can be submitted fordeduction, thereby validating the recorded credit data.

[0137] Publishing Validated Credit Data as Claim Batch Data

[0138] In step 250, the present invention publishes validated creditdata as claim batch data. In an exemplary embodiment, the claim batchdata includes at least one claim batch document that includes thevalidated credit data. In an exemplary embodiment, the validated creditdata includes credit data that has met specified contractual auditterms. In an exemplary embodiment, the claim batch document isassociated with a prefix and a serial batch number. In an exemplaryembodiment, each prefix is associated with a particular vendor. In anexemplary embodiment, each prefix is associated with a particularcustomer. In an exemplary embodiment, the claim batch document can becommunicated to at least one vendor by e-mail or by providing anencrypted Internet uniform resource locator (URL) address of the invoicedocument. In an exemplary embodiment, the claim batch document can becommunicated to at least one customer by e-mail or by providing anencrypted Internet URL address of the invoice document. In an exemplaryembodiment, the validated credit data is validated with at least onevendor. In an exemplary embodiment, the validated credit data isvalidated with at least one customer.

[0139] Audit Screen

[0140] In an exemplary embodiment, in step 250, the present inventionpublishes validated credit data as claim batch data via an audit screen600, as shown in FIG. 6A. In an exemplary embodiment, audit screen 600includes audit select area 305, an audit data area 610, a batch processnew claims area 620, a batches area 630, an invoice new batches area640, an invoices area 650, a claim search area 660, and an auditcomments area 670.

[0141] Audit Data Area

[0142] In an exemplary embodiment, audit data area 610 displays andallows for the entry of confidential audit data, such as the name of aclient, terms of the audit, and contact information for the client. Inan exemplary embodiment, audit data area 610 includes confidential auditdata area 612, a rolling months area 613, a new area 614, an update area616, and a delete area 618.

[0143] In an exemplary embodiment, confidential audit data area 612allows for the display and entry of confidential audit data, such as thename of a client, terms of the audit, and contact information for theclient. In an exemplary embodiment, the terms of the audit include astart date of an audit. In an exemplary embodiment, rolling months area613 allows for the entry of the number of rolling months, N, to be usedin the audit.

[0144] In an exemplary embodiment, new area 614 allows for selection ofthe creating of a new set of confidential audit data. In an exemplaryembodiment, update area 616 allows for the selection of the updating ofa set of audit data. In an exemplary embodiment, delete area 618 allowsfor the selection of the deleting of a set of audit data.

[0145] Batch Process New Claims Area

[0146] In an exemplary embodiment, batch process new claims area 620allows for the selection of batch processing new claims. In an exemplaryembodiment, selecting batch process new claims area 620 causes a batchpreview screen 680, as shown in FIG. 6B, to be displayed.

[0147] Batches Area

[0148] In an exemplary embodiment, batches area 630 displays informationabout at least one batch performed for a client. In an exemplaryembodiment, batches area 630 includes a batch area 632, a batch datearea 634, a claim total area 636, and a number of claims area 638.

[0149] In an exemplary embodiment, batch area 632 displays a batchidentification value of at least one batch performed for the client. Inan exemplary embodiment, selecting batch area 632 causes a batch screen690, as shown in FIG. 6C, to be displayed.

[0150] In an exemplary embodiment, batch date area 634 displays the dateand time of a batch corresponding to batch area 632. In an exemplaryembodiment, claim total area 636 displays the total value of the atleast one claim that was processed in the batch corresponding to batcharea 632. In an exemplary embodiment, number of claims area 638 displaysthe number of claims that were processed in the batch corresponding tobatch area 632.

[0151] Audit Comments Area

[0152] In an exemplary embodiment, audit comments area 670 displayscomments about the audit corresponding to the confidential audit data.In an exemplary embodiment, audit comments area 670 includes a commentsentry area 672, a save comments area 674, a show activity area 676, adate time area 678, a comments area 671, and a by area 673. In anexemplary embodiment, audit comments area 670 allows for the entry ofcomments about the audit corresponding to the confidential audit data.

[0153] In an exemplary embodiment, comments entry area 672 allows forthe entry of comments about the audit. In an exemplary embodiment, savecomments area 674 allows for the saving of the entered comments. In anexemplary embodiment, show activity area 676 allows for the selection ofshowing database activity for the audit. In an exemplary embodiment,date time area 678 displays date and time information of when thecomments were entered. In an exemplary embodiment, comments area 671displays the entered comments and/or the database activity for theaudit. In an exemplary embodiment, by area 673 displays by whom thecomments were entered.

[0154] Batch Preview Screen

[0155] In an exemplary embodiment, in step 250, the present inventionpublishes validated credit data as claim batch data via batch previewscreen 680, as shown in FIG. 6B. In an exemplary embodiment, batchpreview screen 680 includes a claim batch document area 682, a commitarea 684, and a cancel area 686.

[0156] In an exemplary embodiment, claim batch document area 682displays a preview of a batch claim document. In an exemplaryembodiment, commit area 684 allows for the selection of committing thebatch claim document to a published batch claim document. In anexemplary embodiment, a published batch claim document can be viewed bya client. In an exemplary embodiment, cancel area 686 allows for theselection of canceling the batch claim document. In an exemplaryembodiment, a canceled batch claim document cannot be viewed by aclient.

[0157] Batch Screen

[0158] In an exemplary embodiment, in step 250, the present inventionpublishes validated credit data as claim batch data via batch screen690, as shown in FIG. 6C. In an exemplary embodiment, batch screen 690includes claim search area 660, a batch summary area 691, a batch detailarea 692, a printable batch document area 698, and a save area 699. Inan exemplary embodiment, batch screen 690 displays information about abatch corresponding to a selected batch area 632. In an exemplaryembodiment, printable batch document area 698 allows for the selectionof the obtaining of a printable batch document corresponding to theclaim batch data. In an exemplary embodiment, save area 699 allows forthe selection of the saving of at least one entry in batch screen 690.

[0159] Batch Summary Area

[0160] In an exemplary embodiment, batch summary area 691 displays abatch identifier associated with a batch corresponding to the claimbatch data., a date of the creation of the batch, a period of thebatching of the batch, line items that were batched in the batch, anumber of claims batched in the batch, a number of refunds in the batch,a number of voids in the batch, a number of holds in the batch, a totalnumber of line items in the batch, a dollar amount of the claims in thebatch, and a dollar amount of the total number of line items in thebatch.

[0161] Batch Detail Area

[0162] In an exemplary embodiment, batch detail area 692 displays batchdetail information, such as the name of vendor associated with a lineitem in a batch corresponding to the claim batch data, a line itemidentifier, a reference value of the line item, a creation date of theline item, a monetary value of the line item, a location where the lineitem took place, a status of the line item, and a comment about the lineitem. In an exemplary embodiment, batch detail area 692 includes avendor area 693, a line item area 694, a location area 695, a statusarea 696, and a comment area 697.

[0163] Vendor Area

[0164] In an exemplary embodiment, vendor area 693 displays the name ofvendor associated with a line item in the batch. In an exemplaryembodiment, selecting vendor area 693 causes the display of a auditvendor screen if batch screen 690 is displayed as a result of selectingbatch area 632 in audit screen 600 in FIG. 6A. In a particularembodiment, the audit vendor screen displays and allows for the entry ofdata about a vendor corresponding to the selected vendor area 693.

[0165] In an exemplary embodiment, selecting vendor area 693 causes thedisplay of a client vendor screen if batch screen 690 is displayed as aresult of selecting batch area 762 in FIG. 7A. In a particularembodiment, the client vendor screen displays data about a vendorcorresponding to the selected vendor area 693.

[0166] Line Item Area

[0167] In an exemplary embodiment, line item area 694 displays the lineitem identifier of the line item corresponding to the selected line itemarea 694. In an exemplary embodiment, selecting line item area 694causes a view only credits/claims screen to be displayed correspondingto at least one claim that corresponds to the selected line item area694. In an exemplary embodiment, the view only credits/claims screendisplays credits/claims displays information about at least one creditor at least on claim corresponding to the claim

[0168] Location Area, Status Areas and Comment Area

[0169] In an exemplary embodiment, location area 695 allows for theselection of a location of where the line item took place. In anexemplary embodiment, status area 696 allows for the selection of astatus of the line item. In an exemplary embodiment, comment area 697allows for the entry of a comment about the line item.

[0170] Managing Claim Batch Data

[0171] In step 260, the present invention manages the claim batch data.In an exemplary embodiment, in step 260, the present invention displaysa client interface screen 700 as shown in FIG. 7A. Client interfacescreen 700 allows for the monitoring of the claim batch data in aninteractive manner. In an exemplary embodiment, the interactive mannermay include real-time interaction or interaction with a time intervaldelay. In an exemplary embodiment, the time interval is definable by auser.

[0172] In an exemplary embodiment, the client interface screen 700allows for the placing on hold particular claims among the claim batchdata. In an exemplary embodiment, client interface screen 700 allows forthe communicating of comments about particular claims among the claimbatch data in the interactive manner. In an exemplary embodiment, aclient may use client interface screen 700 to interact with the claimbatch data. In an exemplary embodiment, a vendor may use clientinterface screen 700 to interact with the claim batch data. In anexemplary embodiment, a customer may use client interface screen 700 tointeract with the claim batch data.

[0173] Client Interface Screen

[0174] In an exemplary embodiment, step 260, the present inventionmanages the claim batch data via an client interface screen 700, asshown in FIG. 7A. In an exemplary embodiment, client interface screen700 includes an auditor contact area 710, a claim select area 720, aclaims by status area 730, a claims by type area 740, a claims bydivision area 750, a claim summary by batch and line item area 760, aclaim totals by month area 770, and an invoices area 780.

[0175] In an exemplary embodiment, auditor contact area 710 displayscontact information for an auditor who is performing the auditcorresponding to the claim batch data. In an exemplary embodiment, claimselect area 720 allows for the selection of the searching for aparticular claim. In an exemplary embodiment, selecting select area 720causes a credit/claims search results screen that displays a list of allline items corresponding to the claim batch data.

[0176] Claims By Status Area

[0177] In an exemplary embodiment, claims by status area 730 displaysthe status of the claims corresponding to the claim batch data. In anexemplary embodiment, claims by status area 730 displays a dollar amountand a percentage of claims that have a certain status. In an exemplaryembodiment, the status may have values such as open, on hold, refunded,and void. In an exemplary embodiment, claims by status area 730 includesa dollar amount area 732 that allows for the selection of the displayingof information about the claims corresponding to the selected dollaramount area 73 in a claims search results screen 790, as shown in FIG.7B.

[0178] Claims By Type Area

[0179] In an exemplary embodiment, claims by type area 740 displays thetypes of the claims corresponding to the claim batch data. In anexemplary embodiment, claims by type area 740 displays a dollar amountand a percentage of claims that are of a certain type. In an exemplaryembodiment, the type may have values such as UAC (i.e. unapplied cash),COA (i.e. cash on account), return, rebate, overpayment, duplicate, andmiscellaneous. In an exemplary embodiment, claims by type area 740includes a dollar amount area 742 that allows for the selection of thedisplaying of information about the claims corresponding to the selecteddollar amount area 742 in claims search results screen 790.

[0180] Claims By Division Area

[0181] In an exemplary embodiment, claims by division area 750 displaysthe divisions of the claims corresponding to the claim batch data. In anexemplary embodiment, claims by division area 750 displays a dollaramount and a percentage of claims that are of a certain division of theclient. In an exemplary embodiment, the division may have values thatare definable by the client. In an exemplary embodiment, claims bydivision area 750 includes a dollar amount area 752 that allows for theselection of the displaying of information about the claimscorresponding to the selected dollar amount area 752 in claims searchresults screen 790.

[0182] Claim Summary By Batch and Line Item Area

[0183] In an exemplary embodiment, claim summary by batch and line itemarea 760 displays information about at least on claim corresponding toat least on batch and to at least one line item corresponding to theclaim batch data. In an exemplary embodiment, claim summary by batch andline item area 760 displays a batch identification value, a batch date,a claim total, and a number of claims of the batch. In an exemplaryembodiment, claim summary by batch and line item area 760 includes abatch area 762 that displays a batch identification value and allows forthe selection of the displaying of batch screen 690, as shown in FIG.6C.

[0184] Claim Totals By Month Area

[0185] In an exemplary embodiment, claim totals by month area 770displays the totals of the claims corresponding to the claim batch databy month. In an exemplary embodiment, claim totals by month area 770displays a dollar amount and a percentage of claims that are of acertain month. In an exemplary embodiment, claim totals by month area770 includes a dollar amount area 772 that allows for the selection ofthe displaying of information about the claims corresponding to theselected dollar amount area 772 in claims search results screen 790.

[0186] Invoices Area

[0187] In an exemplary embodiment, invoices area 780 displaysinformation about at least one invoice corresponding to the claim batchdata. In an exemplary embodiment, invoices area 780 displays an invoicenumber, a date, and an amount due of the invoice. In an exemplaryembodiment, invoices area 780 includes an invoice number area 782 thatdisplays the invoice number and allows for the selection of thedisplaying of a invoice screen that displays the invoice correspondingto the selected invoice number area 782.

[0188] Claims Search Results Screen

[0189] In an exemplary embodiment, step 260, the present inventionmanages the claim batch data via claims search results screen 790, asshown in FIG. 7B. In an exemplary embodiment, claims search resultsscreen 790 includes batch area 762, a claim search results area 798, anda claim information area 791. In an exemplary embodiment, claim searchresults area 798 displays the number of claim search results, Y,resulting from a search for information about at least one claim.

[0190] Claim Information Area

[0191] In an exemplary embodiment, claim information area 791 displaysclaim information about at least one claim in the claim batch data. Inan exemplary embodiment, the claim information, for a particular claim,may include a batch identification value, a line item identificationvalue, a vendor name, the name of a city of the vendor, a number value,a vendor identification value, a reference value, a batch date and time,an amount, a claim send date and time, and a claim status. In anexemplary embodiment, claim information area 791 includes a line itemarea 792, a vendor area 794, and a vendor identification area 796. In anexemplary embodiment, vendor area 794 displays information about thevendor corresponding to the selected vendor area 794.

[0192] Line Item Area

[0193] In an exemplary embodiment, line item area 792 displays the lineitem identification value. Selecting line item are 792 causes a viewonly credits/claims screen to be displayed corresponding to at least oneclaim that corresponds to the selected line item area 792. In anexemplary embodiment, the view only credits/claims screen displayscredits/claims displays information about at least one credit or atleast on claim corresponding to corresponding to the claim.

[0194] Vendor Identification Area

[0195] In an exemplary embodiment, vendor identification area 796displays the vendor identification value. Selecting vendoridentification area 796 causes a view only vendor screen to be displayedcorresponding to at least one claim that corresponds to the selectedvendor identification area 796. In an exemplary embodiment, the viewonly vendor screen displays vendor information, claims statistics, and aclaims summary for the claim.

[0196] Invoicing Managed Claim Batch Data

[0197] In step 270, the present invention invoices the managed claimbatch data. In an exemplary embodiment, in step 270, the presentinvention invoices the managed claim batch data by producing at leastone invoice document for the managed claim batch data. In an exemplaryembodiment, the invoice document is associated with a prefix and aserial number. In an exemplary embodiment, each prefix is associatedwith a particular vendor. In an exemplary embodiment, each prefix isassociated with a particular customer. In an exemplary embodiment, theinvoice document can be communicated to at least one vendor by e-mail orby providing an encrypted Internet URL address of the invoice document.In an exemplary embodiment, the invoice document can be communicated toat least one customer by e-mail or by providing an encrypted InternetURL address of the invoice document.

[0198] Audit Screen

[0199] In an exemplary embodiment, in step 270, the present inventioninvoices the managed claim batch data via audit screen 600, as shown inFIG. 6A. In an exemplary embodiment, invoice new batches area 640 allowsfor the selection of the invoicing new batches corresponding to themanaged claim batch data. Selecting invoice new batches area 640 causesan invoice preview screen 800, as shown in FIG. 8, to be displayed.

[0200] Invoices Area

[0201] In an exemplary embodiment, invoices area 650 displays invoiceinformation about at least one invoice generated for a client. In anexemplary embodiment, the invoice information may include an invoicenumber of the invoice, a date of the invoice, a findings amount of theinvoice, a refunds amount of the invoice, a voids amount of the invoice,a net amount of the invoice, a billing amount of the invoice, and ashare amount of the invoice. In an exemplary embodiment, invoices area650 includes an invoice number area 652 that displays a invoice numberof at least invoice generated for a client. In an exemplary embodiment,selecting invoice number area 652 causes an image of the invoice to bedisplayed.

[0202] Invoice Preview Screen

[0203] In an exemplary embodiment, in step 270, the present inventioninvoices the managed claim batch data via invoice review screen 800, asshown in FIG. 8. In an exemplary embodiment, invoice review screen 800includes an invoice document area 802, a commit area 804, and a cancelarea 806.

[0204] In an exemplary embodiment, invoice document area 802 displays apreview of an invoice document. In an exemplary embodiment, commit area804 allows for the selection of committing the invoice document to apublished invoice document. In an exemplary embodiment, a publishedinvoice document can be viewed by a client. In an exemplary embodiment,cancel area 806 allows for the selection of canceling the invoicedocument. In an exemplary embodiment, a canceled invoice document cannotbe viewed by a client.

Conclusion

[0205] The present invention relates to auditing software. Moreparticularly, the invention relates to a method and system of managingaccounts payable auditing data. Having fully described a preferredembodiment of the invention and various alternatives, those skilled inthe art will recognize, given the teachings herein, that numerousalternatives and equivalents exist which do not depart from theinvention. It is therefore intended that the invention not be limited bythe foregoing description, but only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of managing accounts payable auditingdata, wherein the auditing data comprises at least one line item and isordered by a propensity to yield claims, the method comprising:displaying at least one aged line item; identifying credit data amongthe at least one displayed aged line item; and recording the identifiedcredit data.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the aged line item is aline item that has aged for N months, where N is a positive integer. 3.The method of claim 2 wherein N is
 4. 4. The method of claim 1 whereinthe displaying comprises: displaying information about the at least oneaged line item; displaying a number of at least one vendor, by rank,that has and has not responded and the status of the at least onevendor; and allowing for the noting and aging for follow up of when thevendor promises a fax, a callback, a mailing of an item, or a checkrequest and when a client puts a claim on hold.
 5. The method of claim 4further comprising: displaying information recognized statementsinformation about at least one vendor statement that is recognized as avendor statement.
 6. The method of claim 5 further comprising:displaying recognized faxes information about at least one facsimilethat is recognized and that is not a vendor statement.
 7. The method ofclaim 6 further comprising: displaying unrecognized information about atleast one facsimile that is unrecognized.
 8. The method of claim 4further comprising scheduling an audit of the at least one aged lineitem.
 9. The method of claim 1 wherein the displaying comprisesdisplaying at least one estimate of at least one future claimcorresponding to the at least one aged line item..
 10. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the displaying comprises displaying a dollar amount ofat least one claim that has been submitted to a client and a dollaramount of of at least one claim that has to be batched.
 11. The methodof claim 1 wherein the displaying comprises displaying aging informationof the at least one aged line item.
 12. The method of claim 1 whereinthe displaying comprises displaying report comments about the at leastone aged line item.
 13. The method of claim 1 wherein the recordingcomprises: allowing for the selection of information aboutcredits/claims, credits, or claims of at least one vendor; and allowingfor the interaction with the information about the credits/claims, thecredits, or the claims of the vendor.
 14. The method of claim 13 furthercomprising allowing for the entry of contact data for at least onevendor.
 15. The method of claim 13 further comprising allowing for theentry of information about at least one vendor statement associated withthe vendor.
 16. The method of claim 13 further comprising allowing forthe entry of comments about the vendor.
 17. The method of claim 13wherein the allowing for interaction comprises allowing for the entryand display of credits/claims information of the vendor.
 18. The methodof claim 13 wherein the allowing for interaction comprises displaying asummary of claim information about at least line item associated with atleast one claim of the vendor.
 19. The method of claim 13 wherein theallowing for interaction comprises displaying a summary of informationabout at least one credit of the vendor.
 20. The method of claim 13wherein the allowing for interaction comprises allowing for the entry ofa date when a line item was created.
 21. The method of claim 20 furthercomprising aging the line item until its Nth month
 22. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising validating the recorded credit data.
 23. Themethod of claim 22 wherein the validating comprises allowing for thecontacting of at least one vendor corresponding to the recorded creditdata in order to verify that the at least one aged line item can besubmitted for deduction.
 24. The method of claim 22 further comprisingpublishing the validated credit data as claim batch data.
 25. The methodof claim 24 wherein the claim batch data comprises at least one claimbatch document comprising the validated credit data.
 26. The method ofclaim 24 wherein the publishing comprises displaying information aboutat least one batch among the claim batch data.
 27. The method of claim25 wherein the publishing comprises displaying a preview of the claimbatch document.
 28. The method of claim 23 further comprising managingthe claim batch data.
 29. The method of claim 28 wherein the managingcomprises allowing for the monitoring of the claim batch data in aninteractive manner.
 30. The method of claim 28 wherein the managingcomprises allowing for the placing on hold at least one claim among theclaim batch data.
 31. The method of claim 28 wherein the managingcomprises allowing for the communicating of comments about at least oneclaim among the claim batch data in an interactive manner.
 32. Themethod of claim 28 wherein the managing comprises displaying at leastone status of at least one claim corresponding to the claim batch data.33. The method of claim 28 wherein the managing comprises displaying atleast one type of at least one claim corresponding to the claim batchdata.
 34. The method of claim 28 further comprising invoicing themanaged claim batch data.
 35. The method of claim 34 wherein theinvoicing comprises producing at least one invoice document for themanaged claim batch data.
 36. The method of claim 34 wherein theinvoicing comprises displaying invoice information about at least oneinvoice corresponding to the managed claim batch data..
 37. The methodof claim 35 wherein the producing comprises displaying a preview of theinvoice document.
 38. The method of claim 1 further comprising:validating the recorded credit data; publishing the validated creditdata as claim batch data; managing the claim batch data; and invoicingthe managed claim batch data.
 39. A system of managing accounts payableauditing data, wherein the auditing data comprises at least one lineitem and is ordered by a propensity to yield claims, the systemcomprising: a displaying unit logically configured to display at leastone aged line item; an identifying unit logically configured to identifycredit data among the at least one displayed aged line item; and arecording unit logically configured to record the identified creditdata.
 40. A method of managing accounts payable auditing data, whereinthe auditing data comprises at least one line item and is ordered by apropensity to yield claims, the method comprising: displayinginformation about at least one batch among claim batch datacorresponding to the at least one line item; and displaying a preview ofa claim batch document corresponding to the batch..
 41. A method ofmanaging accounts payable auditing data, wherein the auditing datacomprises at least one line item and is ordered by a propensity to yieldclaims, the method comprising: allowing for the monitoring of claimbatch data associated with the at least one line item in an interactivemanner; and allowing for the placing on hold at least one claim amongthe claim batch data.